New findings on the first steps in protein synthesis

In the earliest phase of creating human proteins, the protein complex NAC performs an essential task by starting the first steps toward folding proteins into their correct three-dimensional structures. An international research team led by scientists from the Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University has found that the NAC complex binds to the nascent protein building blocks formed by the ribosome, i.e., the amino acid chains, and initiates the folding that is essential for functional proteins.